LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — For young people aging out of foster care, finding a place to call home can feel impossible.
But for Shyler Andis, a new transitional housing program run by Blueprint502 is offering more than a roof over her head — it’s a second chance.
"Because I don't have to worry about where am I going to lay my head," Andis said.
The freshly renovated building on South Preston Street in the Smoketown neighborhood looks unassuming from the outside, but inside, are nine income-based apartments where residents find safety, stability and the skills they need to thrive.
“This is the game-changer here,” Danyetta Hayes, case manager at Blueprint502, said. “We provide wraparound services and case management to help them get on their feet — housing 101, from maintenance to housekeeping.”
After aging out of foster care at 18, Andis spent months homeless, vulnerable to violence.
“I was assaulted by a man,” she said. “I don’t have to worry about somebody trying to beat me or sexually assault me anymore. I have a safe place.”
Andis credited her referral to Blueprint502, formerly YouthBuild, with changing her life.
“I was in foster care, and something happened with Home and Innocence funding, and they referred me to 502 Blueprint,” she said. “I’m excited to move in because I don’t have to worry about where I’m going to lay my head.”
While residents can stay for at least a year, services continue as long as needed. Hayes said the program works with legal aid, education providers and job-placement partners.
“Blood doesn’t make you family, loyalty does,” Hayes said. “We wrap our arms around them and help them be the best they can be.”
Blueprint502 case manager Brittany Carson knows the journey firsthand. Once homeless herself, she joined the program in 2016.
“It took being vulnerable enough to tell my mentors that, every day, I was waking up at a different place,” she recalled.
Now, Carson guides others through the same path that saved her life.
“My biggest passion is helping people,” Carson said. “I wanted to give back.”
As the first resident to move in, Andis said the impact is immediate.
“It’s nice. I like it a lot,” she said. “Everybody says take it day by day; I’m taking it hour by hour.”
Andis' goals are simple: stability, safety and eventually providing a better life for her children.
The program will also offer other services, including education and job placement.
Hayes said, as units become vacant, Blueprint502 will accept new clients, ensuring no youth falls through the cracks after leaving foster care.
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